Most university and college media relations professionals report to a marketing or public relations director who, in turn, reports to the vice president of development or institutional advancement. That individual then reports to the president or chancellor of the university or college. Ideally, however, you should have enough credibility to be able to go to the top when a decision is needed immediately or in the case of a campus crisis.

A critical step in media relations is to obtain a top-down commitment and secure resources to do your job. In order to do that, you must see yourself—and be seen—as an integral part of the university team. Your goals and your media plans should always stem from the strategic goals of the institution. These will then dictate your priorities.

The big stories over the next 10 years will be the cost, restructuring and pricing of a university education, diversity, distance learning, cooperative agreements between universities and university/industry partnerships. The media will look for patterns developing across the country and link stories to national trends.

For more tips on how to be heard by the media see Special Report #15 “15 Steps to Effective University and College Media Relations”